8 THEBIGISSUE9–22MAY2014
“When the rate of return on
capital exceeds the rate of
growth of output and income,
as it did in the 19th century
and seems quite likely to do
again in the 21st, capitalism
automatically generates arbitrary
and unsustainable inequalities
that radically undermine the
meritocratic values on which
democratic societies are based.”
A key quote from ‘rock star’ French
economist Thomas Picketty, in
his sensational bestseller, Capital
in the 21st Century, on an inbuilt
“contradiction of capitalism”, which
he says inevitably leads to greater
inequality and threatens to undermine
democracy. The book has attracted
a lot of attention, mostly because
the simple algorithm he discovered
in his research has supposedly gone
unnoticed by economists before.
– Goodreads (US)
“Capitalists are claiming a
substantially smaller share of
the economic pie today than they
did in the mid-19th century. Back
then, capital income was a bit
more than 40% of total national
income. Now it’s a bit under
30%. So if capitalists – savers,
landowners, entrepreneurs and
all the rest – are going to become
a bigger deal in the future, they’ve
got a long way to go before they’re
at 19th-century levels.”
Economist Garett Jones on Thomas
Picketty’s “contradiction of capitalism”.
Jones asserts that Picketty’s own data
contradicts his argument. Others
have also questioned the measures of
income and growth used by the French
Marxist economist. Gentlemen and
ladies, choose your weapons.
– Reason (US)
“The place should be a museum
of torture, for what happened
there under Saddam, the
Americans and [Iraqi Prime
Minister] Maliki.”
An anonymous former prisoner of
Abu Ghraib on what should happen to
the notorious prison, which the Iraqi
Government is planning to shut down.
– The New York Times (US)
“We’re more dependent on
America today than we ever were
on Britain, and more dependent
on America today than we ever
were during the Cold War.”
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser
on Australia’s relationship with Uncle
“We got a puppy, and that’s my
idea of starting a family. People
say, ‘Oh, that’s practice for
parenting,’ but if it’s practice
for anything it’s to be a mum to
another puppy.”
Christina Hendricks, star of the hit
TV series Mad Men, on preferring to
start a family of little puppies than
little people. The RSPCA says owning
a dog over its lifetime costs around
$25,000 on average. Raising a child to
21 usually costs somewhere between
$200,000 and $500,000, depending
on family income.
– Us Magazine (US)
I HAVE A LOT OF SELF-CONTROL. I’M NOT
OVERINDULGENT. BUT IF YOU OFFERED
ME SNEAKERS, OR IF YOU OFFERED ME
RECORDS, I WILL GIVE AWAY CIA SECRETS.
I WILL BECOME JULIAN ASSANGE!
Questlove of The Roots on being ready to give away state secrets
in exchange for sneakers or records. The drummer, DJ and record
producer already owns about 2000 pairs of shoes and 70,000 records.
– Vanity Fair (US)
HEARSAY
WRITER RICHARD CASTLES » CARTOONIST ANDREW WELDON
Taxi driver: “I’m from Brisbane.”
Passenger: “Oh, why did you
move to Perth?”
Taxi driver: “Feng shui.”
An exchange in Perth between
passenger Felicity, of
Melbourne, and driver, formerly
of Brisbane, until bad energy
made him go west.
EAR2GROUND
QUESTLOVEPHOTOGRAPHBYFRAZERHARRISON/GETTYIMAGES